Until relatively recently, loads connected to an AC main were almost always linear responding. That is, when a sinusoidal voltage is applied to a linear load, the resultant current waveform will also be sinusoidal. Additionally, the current in the linear load is directly proportional to the instantaneous voltage applied to the load.
Recently, many modern electrical and electronic devices present non-linear loads to a power line. When such non-linear loads are connected to an AC power line, current and sometimes voltage waveform distortion results. An RMS scaled averaging meter will give incorrect readings, often understating the potential for overheating and other problems.
Distorted waveforms are more complex than pure sine waves, and are composed of the fundamental sine wave and harmonics of the sine wave frequency. The distorted waveform reflects the arithmetic sum of the instantaneous RMS values of all the harmonic components and the fundamental sine wave frequency. Harmonics which are present on only one phase of a multi-phase system will generally appear on the neutral conductor, requiring that conductor to handle, in many cases, more current that it was originally designed to handle. Additionally, triplen harmonics (3rd, 6th, 9th, etc.) that appear on a given phase of a 3-phase system will be additive in the neutral conductor. Further, this problem is not limited to the neutral conductor, as harmonic currents will also be present in transformers and generators associated with the power supply system.
Waveform distortion, also known as harmonic distortion, may cause serious equipment problems. For example, if a 3-phase motor is powered by a distorted voltage, there will be an uneven torque on the motor, which may cause the motor to overheat and prematurely fail.
Waveform distortion can cause instrumentation reading errors and can go undetected if a proper measuring system is not used. Most portable instrumentation is "average" responding scaled to RMS. For a "pure" non-distorted sine wave, such an "average" responding instrument will indicate the RMS value of the waveform with reasonable accuracy. However, for the distorted current waveforms found on most power lines, the same "average" responding instrument will read lower than the actual RMS value. For example, for an SCR waveform with a conduction or firing angle of 90.degree., an "average" responding instrument will read 29% lower than the "true" RMS value. Other types of distorted waveforms may produce even more serious errors. Most importantly, the user of the measurement system will not even be aware of any waveform distortion.
To overcome these inaccuracies, a measurement mode called "True RMS" has been developed. A "True RMS" measurement system computes the true effective heating value of any waveform. "Average RMS" and "True RMS" responding systems will both read exactly the same on pure sine waves. On distorted waveforms, however, only the "True RMS" responding system will produce accurate RMS readings.
To date, however, no single instrument is available to measure both "Average RMS" and "True RMS" in response to user selection, to allow a user to detect and estimate waveform distortion. Heretofore, a user had to have separate instruments for True and Average RMS signal measurements. Further, those same measurements, as well as additional computations, are required to compute power line conditions such as "Form Factor".